Imperfections As Part Of The Path

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Imperfections And Acceptance On The Path

 
“We must be willing to be completely ordinary people...,
which means accepting ourselves as we are without trying to become greater, purer, more spiritual, more insightful.
If we can accept our imperfections as they are, quite ordinarily, then we can use them as part of the path.
But if we try to get rid of our imperfections, then they will be enemies, obstacles on the road to our self-improvement.”
— Chögyam Trungpa
 

From the book The Myth of Freedom by Chögyam Trungpa.

Does the line “willing to be completely ordinary” make you cringe even just a little bit?

Competition In Everything

Being ordinary isn’t what we’re taught in our society. Competition reigns supreme in our outer world and that means you’ve got to be greater, better – no matter which game you're playing.

Run faster, leap higher, stay up later, have more projects than the other guy, and yes, shine brighter, be more enlightened, than your meditating neighbor. You'll find competition even in the "game" of meditation.

Naturally, we are all growing and striving to be the most authentic that we can be — and yes, we want to lessen or even eliminate our faults.

But, the first step is the acceptance of who we are?

Well, how could we begin without it?

Finding Acceptance Within Ourselves

On days when you are being particularly hard on yourself, the above quote is a nice reminder to be more gentle. Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can support themselves on the path with ongoing use of TRT® hands-on.

Use of TRT® supports us to be the observer. It’s like turning up the lights in a darkened room. With increased light, we’re able to see more clearly.

TRT® hands-on helps us to relax into a deeper awareness of ourselves.

 

Freedom On The Path

The fact that Chögym Trungpa chose the title The “Myth” of Freedom is a bit daring, don’t you think?

Isn’t that the dream of all meditators — to be free? Free from it all? And yet, many of our teachers remind us that the path of meditation is not an escape.

There’s no escape from ourselves.

What is freedom? Where is it? Is it inside or outside of us?

Open portals are all around us.

Step through the gateways that you find in your meditations.

 

The Way To Do Is To Be

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The Way To Do Is To Be

“Always we hope someone else has the answer, some other place will be better, some other time it will turn out.

This is it. No one else has the answer, no other place will be better, and it has already turned out.

At the center of your being, you have the answer: you know who you are and you know what you want. There is no need to run outside for better seeing, nor to peer from a window.

Rather abide at the center of your being: for the more you leave it, the less you learn. Search your heart and see the way to do is to be.”
— Lao Tzu
 

Presented in this poem by Lao Tzu is a koan for us to ponder between "to do" and "to be" – as they are both movement and stillness, each in their own way.

 

Doing And Being

Do you ever find yourself running after a better place as mentioned in this poem?

Do you find yourself searching for something else out there, not even sure what it is?

It's tricky, because we want to plan and prepare for things, such as going to school, working on a project, planning a trip. These are all with a future event in mind – school graduation, project completion, a place experienced. These are good and lofty goals.

Yet, our planning and projects co-exist with our challenge of being present while we're doing all of that.

In this very moment.

So easily said, and not so easily done.

Inner Heart Guidance

He writes: "At the center of your being, you have the answer."

Perhaps this center is our Inner Heart. When we are guided by our Inner Heart, our steps of doing are taken from an interior reference point. But how do we "hear" the guidance of our Inner Heart?

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) have a simple way to support themselves to access their intuition. Use of the TRT® hands-on connects us consciously to universal, supportive energy that allows us to better "hear" our inner heart.

When we are guided from within, and not from outside of ourselves, our doing reflects our being; the two are in alignment.

 

A Butterfly In Your Radiant Hand

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The Fluttering Of A Butterfly's Wings

 
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which,
if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
— unknown
 

Sharmon Davidson, artist

 

Butterflies Inspire Our Imagination

The metamorphose from wiggly caterpillar to cocoon to "flying flower" enchants us. 

Butterflies flit about our gardens, sipping from flower centers, in the intricate dance of pollination. 

Is that a smoldering tango that we see between butterfly and flower? Or an airy waltz?

Our hearts smile as we watch a butterfly's crooked flight path on the warm air. These tiny creatures fill our sense of sight, but what if we could perceive them at a micro-cosmos level?

What if we could actually hear their feathered wings in flight, beating upon the air, just as we can hear a bird's wings?

What if we could hear the siren song of a flower as it calls, coaxing the butterfly to take a delicate sip?

What a melodious mini-duet that would be.

A Butterfly In Your Radiant Hand

To enjoy a butterfly, stomping and yelling are not terribly effective. Rather, focus on moving gently or holding still. "BE the flower," I can hear the Zen teacher intoning.

Imagine yourself sitting in a meditation. You radiate such stillness and peace that even a butterfly feels safe to rest gently in your Radiant Hand – like the first image above.

You may not actually have butterflies landing in your hand (although you never know), yet this is a lovely image for our meditations. It supports us to remember the energy of stillness and goodwill to all creatures of this Earth.

 
“Only your surface is disturbed; in your deepness there is stillness and total tranquility.”
— Bryant McGill
 

Butterfly Spiral In Your Heart

In this artwork a thread comes from another level and then turns in a counterclockwise spiral within the heart – imagery that reminds me how The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) gives us access to universal energy. The use of TRT® hands-on allows us to go deeper, to become more aware of the loving energy in our hearts and in existence.

Stillness Within Us

Exploring the energy of stillness we see that it can be found within us. The world spins ever faster, we, ourselves, are running madly sometimes, yet this stillness continues to bear silent witness.

Are we aware of it?

 
“When you gaze out on a quiet, peaceful meadow, next to a still pond, under a motionless blue sky, you wonder how the noisy, busy cacophony of life could have arisen from such silent, motionless beginning. ”
— M..
 
 

The Power Of Saying Yes In Your Life

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The Power Of Saying Yes In Wholeness

YES is powerful.

But, too often we think NO is more powerful.

No to others. No to ourselves.

That's an illusion.

YES is what gives us the power to support ourselves, to affirm ourselves.

YES has movement in it. NO is full stop.

The challenge, and yet elegant part of the process, is that when you must say "no" – how do you do so, and still say it as an affirming "yes" to Wholeness?

Yes Means Yes?

Elna Baker explored this notion in one of her personal life-stories entitled Yes Means Yes? and presented it on stage at The Player's Club, filmed with The Moth, in New York City.

I heard her entire monologue on my car radio while listening to NPR, cruising down darkened roads after seeing the super full moon on San Francisco Bay. It somehow seemed fitting to have this story accompany me on my ride home. (Caveat: there is a "spicy word" spoken, but only at one point in the story.)


Elna Baker discovered that sometimes when she says "no" – she is, in fact, saying "yes" to herself. She is affirming her life choices.

Now Wait Just A New York Minute

You might be saying to yourself, but wait, there are a lot of things to which we need to say "no."

True.

Whenever you say "no" – you could phrase it in a way that supports you. It can be as simple as: I'm not going out tonight (no), because I am going to stay in and rest and care for myself (yes). Obviously, this is an internal dialogue. You don't have to explain this out loud to others.

Furthermore, it doesn't have to do with being a "yes-person" which carries a negative connotation.

Merriam-Webster defines a "yes-person" as:

 
“a person ... who agrees with everything that someone says: a person who supports the opinions or ideas of someone else in order to earn that person’s approval. ”
 

The YES affirmation we are referring to is something that contributes to our well-being. It's based on what is important inside of us, not on someone else's approval. 

Saying Yes In Many Languages

If your maternal language is not English, just substitute the word in the language that has the most emotional meaning for you.

Or, explore YES in the various languages you speak. Maybe you'll find that one has more meaning for you.

Just say YES to your life.

 

Bring Mindfulness To All That You Do

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Ajahn Chah On Meditation And Mindfulness

 
“Sitting for hours on end is not necessary. Some people think that the longer you can sit, the wiser you must be. I have seen chickens sit on their nests for days on end. Wisdom comes from being mindful in all postures. Your practice should begin as you awaken in the morning. It should continue until you fall asleep.

Don’t be concerned about how long you can sit. What is important is only that you keep watchful whether you are working or sitting or going to the bathroom. Each person has his own natural pace. Some of you will die at age fifty, some at age sixty-five, and some at age ninety. So, too, your practice will not be all identical.

Don’t think or worry about this. Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become quieter and quieter in any surroundings. It will become still like a clear forest pool. Then all kinds of wonderful and rare animals will come to drink at the pool. You will see clearly the nature of all things (sankharas) in the world.

You will see many wonderful and strange things come and go. But you will be still. Problems will arise and you will see through them immediately. This is the happiness of the Buddha.”
— Ajahn Chah
 

Meditation In Your Daily Life

This is what we seek.

To bring our awareness to all that we do. No separation.

 

Do I Dare Disturb The Universe?

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All Our Comings And Goings

They say we're tripping the light fantastic, but maybe it's more akin to stumbling.

Our arrival on this planet is often marked with a bounce-landing.

Our Bodies Betray Us

With no lack of dysfunctional body parts, broken emotions, or minds lost along the way, we try our best to manage a slew of struggles. Betrayal awaits our bodies at every turn.

 

To add insult to injury, the flesh of this world mocks us. Hovering over us at all times is the ultimate trump card marked Death. Given that our bodies hold the upper hand, you'd think they could be a bit more gracious.

Those who are strong today can just as easily be shattered tomorrow.

No one, nothing, escapes impermanence.

This Tarot Soprafino Death Card was created by Johann Elias Ridinger and engraved by Johann Jacob Ridinger about 1760.

Impermanence Is Raw

The word "impermanence" has a soft connotation to it. What's here today will not be here tomorrow.

"Oh, impermanence," intoned a bored lady in the room where the women come and go talking of Michelangelo (hat tip to The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T.S. Eliot).

"Yes, I am quite familiar with it," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, as if impermanence were only a damp wisp of fog easily brushed away.

All Things Shall Pass

It's a cerebral topic of discussion in Buddhist philosophy. Like the sand mandala in the photo, Buddhism teaches us that all things will pass.

We get the impression that events are calm, even well-prepared, and then disappear.

In reality, impermanence is raw and visceral. It crashes down around us.

Impermanence screams in fear, whimpers in a corner, and rips our hearts out.

The serenity of a Buddha statue belies the stark reality of beginnings and endings that are violent and painful.

Perhaps You Think We Exaggerate

The National Geographic movie documentary, "Journey to the Edge of the Universe,"  catapults us into a wild and wooly cosmos.

When the ending credits roll, our eyes are wide with amazement and, if we're honest, a bit of fright. We're left with nothing to hang on to as we careen across inter-galactic space.

Nuclear Fusion And Black Holes

Nuclear fusion reactions are common and explode across space. Galactic energies collide and then coalesce. Deadly quasars of breath-taking beauty blast out jets of radiation from their cores.

Entire galaxies are destroyed. Vast universes are reborn. 

The hypernova reigns supreme in lawlessness and destruction as the most violent star-death of all. Its core becomes a black hole that destroys and consumes everything, even light, that enters it.

All rules of physics collapse within the vortex of a black hole.

What exists when there is no matter, no time, no space?

Are we destined to become emptiness and nothingness?

At The Edge Of The Universe

Where do we go from here?

When we reach the edge of our known universe – what or where, is our consciousness?

In humans, hope springs eternal. We stubbornly cling to a shard of light. We clutch our chests even as the universe flings us into the far reaches of the cosmos.

In stillness and meditation, we sit, willing our hearts to beat even within the dark matter of the galaxy.

Do I Dare Disturb The Universe?

Meanwhile, back on Earth. 

A great roar of noise is taking place all around us.

Do we hear it?

  • A bullet sears through flesh.

  • Bones are splintered in a car crash.

  • Trapped in a sudden cardiac arrest, a heart slams to a halt.

Every last dying breath of all-that-is calls out to – what?

 

But, do we hear it?

T.S. Eliot continues in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:

“When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through half-deserted streets...”
 

We move through our lives as if we, too, were etherized. We're aware of only a fraction of existence. We're smothered under multiple layers of veils. This numbed state keeps us blind and deaf.

It's Time To Lift The Veils

It's time to see again. Time to hear the many vibrations swirling around us.

We'll lift the veils, slowly and surely, with our meditation.

Eliot poses the question: Do I dare disturb the universe?

In one word... Yes.